HEALY "STATE OF THE CITY" - BLASTS POLITICAL OPPONENTS

In this segment of Healy's State of the City address given this past Monday evening, the STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report/SCPR) focuses on what must be the Mayor's focus - the turmoil that has enveloped Canton City Hall.

As one should expect, Healy focuses the likes of Council president Allen Schulman (unnamed) and long time council member Bill Smuckler (also unnamed) who successfully ran against Healy for mayor in the Democratic primary in 2003.

The Report agrees with Healy that Schulman and Smuckler and their cohorts are indeed his political enemies. Where the SCPR differs with Healy is that Healy himself is the reason for his own troubles. Healy exudes arrogance, brooks no "differing of opinion" within his administration and demonstrates paranoic-esque actions to control; even those who he has no direct authority over.

Unless and until Healy recognizes that his firing of his Tom Bernabei as service director and chief of staff together with a host of other political goofs vis-a-vis Council and other key players in larger Stark County community, he will spend the rest of his days as Mayor being embattled and therefore detrimental to the social, political and economic revival of Canton.

Note in Healy's State of the City address how he makes special mention of his supporters.

Well, The Report has had contact with several of his supporters who thought they were, on one hand, mentally pugilistic enough to browbeat the SCPR into being less critical of the Healy Administration; and, on the other, smart enough to finesse the same result.

Let's hope the Mayor can do better than this group for support. But they fit a disturbing pattern your truly sees with the Mayor himself. Apparently, one must drink the Healy Kook-Aid concoction to get treated respectfully by the Mayor. The SCPR sees that Mayor William J. Healy, II abhors any disagreement and works to marginalize those who think differently than he does.

Healy is not the only Stark County politician who gets vengeful with those who disagree. Yours truly can tick off a half dozen without giving the matter much thought.

When the Mayor politically matures and starts genuinely seeking advice from others and showing the ability to work with dissenters on his government policies and practices, then, not only The Report, but many other Stark Countians will take note of the change and view the Mayor in a different light.

A dose of political maturation will be much more effective than asking Kool-Aid drinking supporters to go out and do political bombast or spin for him.

View and hear Healy speak for himself in the following video.